Is anyone making any significant changes to their approach this year or staying with your go to methods? Not just in broadheads and such but new plans of attack for a certain area or new properties? As for me I will be hunting a lot of public land where in the past its been almost all private. I still have the private but the challenge of public really appeals to me. Also hopefully get some well needed training for my pup in tracking wounded deer.
One of my main Bowhunt spots is a 230 acre spread. About half creek bottom hardwoods and agriculture (corn and beans) and half CRP. Its actually two adjoining properties. The ag and creek bottoms belong to one land owner, the Crp belongs to the other. Well with the flooding we had here in southwest illinois, the ag fields are shot. Nothing but weeds. They were basically our food source as the crp ground is enrolled in programs that prohibit planting plots. So we are going to be basically hunting bedding areas. No food. There are other ag fields in the area but cannot hunt them so hopefully the deer stay on the property. Seem to be hanging around so far. They have everything else they need. Fingers crossed. Adapt and Overcome!
Not really changing anything significant, just changing some stand locations. Same old tried and true for me.
This will be my 3rd season bowhunting and every year has seen significant changes. Every year I have thought I was more prepared than I really was. The first year was an absolute joke, the second year wasn't as bad but still left room for improvement, and this year I'm hoping is better than the last. More scouting, more cameras, more areas to hunt. So to answer your question I guess you could say I am still developing my methods.
with major logging operations starting up I just have to work the fringes of the logging areas. I know the does will be in there feeding on the tops. never hunted like this before. it might be just what I need to get the buck I have been chasing for a couple years now.
im right there with you. my 3rd season after getting back into bowhunting. Im still learning. but i have a feeling each year will teach me something new and i look forward to it.
My prime property is also being logged this year. I have no idea how the movement or patterns will be affected, as I've never hunted a property before while logging was going on. My plan is to also spread the pressure among more properties this year, including state land. I think I burned out a few spots from over-hunting so I'm gonna hunt some state land this year, as well.
In the past I would hunt mornings and evening during early October but this year I am just going to hunt the evening for the first couple weeks of the season.
Ive changed about everything in the way I approach my hunting tactics. Also have a new camo system, arrow set up, and I am filming this year.
This will be the first year I switch from hunting my 3/4 acre sliver of private land to public. (as well as my third bow hunting year overall) This is the first year I have actually been scouting and using a trail camera, I might try all day sits this year too.
I'm going to change locations on how I hunt in October and the infamous October Lull that I seem to experience every year. I'm limited on areas that I can hunt as far as crop fields other than corn. Previous years I would always fall back on the habit of going back to stands that I have seen deer at but typically are not their until the rut. I'm going to focus on staying as close to food sources as I can. I'm also going to take a long walk this year as I struggle to find acorns the past few years, i'm going to do some hiking on a rainy day and see If I can find where they are this year if my normal spots are not producing the acorns. My normal spots usually drop them every couple years. Anyone else got any tips on hunting the October lull?
Got married this summer so I'll have plenty of changes this year! Probably involving less time in the woods. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Don't think I am going to hunt until October to have less pressure. Open September 19th. Going to try more public ground.
All new this year. All new equipment, new area that I've been working on (close to my rifle spot). But my hunting area is an hour away so when I can get there is limited to weekends of vacation. The village has a big section of public land that bow hunting is allowed on which is walking distance from my house. I am going to scout it some and see if I can find a good spot for a ground blind. I'd rather fill my fridge off the public land so I can not worry and let the herd on the private land get stronger.
Well, do to situations outside my control, I'll be hunting a lot more public land this year. I've been running cams on my place for a couple months now and have literally on had one decent 3 1/2 year old on camera. Nothing older. The weather prevented me from getting my plots in the way I wanted to. The ag field that borders to me to the south was never planted, and only about 1/3 of the field to the north was planted. They logged the timber on the farms to the northeast and southwest of me last year. We are still feeling the results of EHD from 2012 and 2013, so I also have that working against me. So far that has all added up to very low deer numbers frequenting my 40 acres. Things could change and I'm still running cams so I can be ready to react if the do, but I don't have high hopes at this point. With all that working against me, I'm turning to public land to see what I can do. I was lucky enough to take my buck off public land last year, so I'm hopeful I can do it again this year.
Kinda what I'm thinking. Less busy then for me too since harvest will be on downward slide. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
major drought in the northwest this year... and lots of areas closed do to fires or fire dangers... so not hunting the food so much this year and gonna search out any water holes that aren't dried out yet... just hope its not too crowded
In my area we don't have many acorns and I don't have any ag fields around. Hoping to get our food plots out the next couple of weekends but early season im going to try to find a white oak that's producing and camp out there. Got a few nice shooters running around and im sure they will be frequenting there. I just hope I can get them coming to the acorns in the daylight.
I haven't usually played the wind and hunted anywhere anytime because I have always hunted with a rifle. but this year im gonna pay a lot more attention to wind patterns wanna get in close for the kill with a bow
